Category: Cycling

  • Slimed!

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    Sam
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    I punctured my front tyre on the bike this morning going through a lane that had just had its hedgerow heavily trimmed by the farmer. The slime really wanted to seal it but a thorn stuck in the tyre wouldn’t let it. I changed tubes but by the time I tried to roll the slime…

  • A Windy Friend

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    Sam
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    The wind can be your training friend you know, and not just in the tailwind variety. If you train on the bike with a power meter you learn to ride at the power and effort that you want for the planned session. It becomes easier to ride with a steadier heart rate over rolling terrain,…

  • Travelling

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    Sam
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      Cycling is a great thing. You can travel large distances, get in the lanes and see the countryside, up to the hills, and out to the coast seeing places that others don’t get into. You can see the world at a pace that others miss.   The best way to add to this is…

  • Preppie

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    Sam
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    I’m into a second week of preparation work before training begins in earnest next week. All this means is that I’m “training” again after a period of 6 weeks of mucking about and doing what I felt like. What I felt like turned out to be almost no swimming, bugger all cycling other than commuting…

  • iBike update

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    Sam
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    The wired handlebar mount for my iBike cycle computer died this summer, and I’m quite impressed with myself. Unusually I didn’t panic (too much) about being unable to collect data, and I didn’t run out and drop £800 that I didn’t have on an upgrade to a Powertap. I was helped a little by the…

  • Tendinopathy

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    Sam
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    I think my right Achilles (calcaneal) tendon has been sore pretty much since I started running again a few years ago. Well, probably after a while of building up my mileage anyway. It’s nothing too nasty, and often only presents as a scratchy sensation a few cm above the tendon’s insertion into the calcaneal bone,…

  • A Partnership with Sunwise

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    Sam
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    I used to run to and from work alongside the river Taff when I was living in Cardiff. When I switched to cycling my optician noticed changes to my eyes and recommended that I start wearing glasses to protect them from dust, insects and drying. Sure, I used to wear glasses all the time when…

  • Autumn fixes: ibike upgrade

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    Sam
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    Since the speed sensor for my iBike power meter died late in the summer I’ve been keeping one eye on eBay for second hand power meters and the other on the upcoming slew of next generation PMs. Garmin announced their pedal based Vector power meter, but at a price much higher than expected. Powertap announced…

  • The year of biking and swimming

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    Sam
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    This year I wanted to focus on biking and swimming in training, as my running was ok and I could make the greatest gains by improving my bike leg in triathlon. I needed to improve my swimming to give myself a chance of catching the leaders on the bike. Looking at the year so far…

  • Bala Standard Distance Triathlon, 2011

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    Sam
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    How windy was North Wales for the Bala weekend? (How windy was the whole UK?) It was a wee bit breezy up there (25-30mph), and it was a south-westerly, blowing the length of the south-westerly lying lake and its parallel bike and run courses. Sheeesh. If you can’t race in the wind your race was…